One Hundred
by Micayasha
Summary: 100 romance drabbles of many pairings, including Gippal/Baralai, Tidus/Yuna, Auron/Rikku, Paine/Nooj, and more. Pairings are stated at the beginning of each drabble.
1. Taste

Taste  
  
_Gippal/Baralai_

* * *

"Gippal? Is something the matter?"

Gippal didn't come here with the intention of getting distracted by the tousled state of Baralai's hair – loose from it usual bandana, falling in his eyes and curling around his cheeks – nor the disarray of his robes, rumpled after a sixteen-hour day.

Gippal cannot allow himself to pay too much attention to the rectangular, black-rimmed eyeglasses that he seldom sees Baralai wearing because they are such a nuisance, but which really do complement the praetor's face.

Above all, Gippal really has to stop staring at Baralai's lips and the way the are moving, and focus instead on what's actually coming out of them.

"—even listening to me?"

"I–" Gippal blinked helplessly.

Baralai smiled wearily. "Come in." He stepped aside and gestured Gippal into his office. "It wasn't important. What was it that you wanted?"

"Have you looked at a clock lately?" Gippal asks, staring quite determinately at a painting of what looks like Mount Gagazet – because that, at least, will not distract him the same way Baralai does.

"I'm sorry?"

Gippal raises an eyebrow, risking a glance at him. "The time, 'Lai, d'you know what time it is?"

"Ah – half-past midnight, I think." Baralai looks faintly guilty, but he is sitting back down at his desk and picking up his pen. That won't do.

Gippal snatches the pen from Baralai's hand, noticing as he does so that Baralai's fingers are covered in ink stains, and he can't help smiling at that, though he's not sure why.

"Your dedication is admirable and all that," Gippal says, putting the pen behind his back when Baralai makes a half-hearted grab for it, "but this is just… at this rate, you're going to work yourself to death. Your body can't handle all this. And even if it could, you know what they say about all work and no play."

Baralai sighs and puts a hand to his temple, closing his eyes. Gippal wonders if he has a headache. "I – I have to get this done, Gippal. It's important."

"What happened to _'One thing at a time'_?"

"When dealing with the general population, yes. But I will do as much as I can and as quickly as possible, and if that means losing a few hours' sleep, then so be it."

Gippal sighs, too. "It's not just a few hours, 'Lai, it's late nights and early mornings all the time."

"I can take care of myself perfectly well, thank you." It seems Baralai is starting to lose his temper, and that alone would be indicative of something wrong with him – Baralai is patient to a fault. "I am not a child, Gippal."

Gippal shrugs. "I didn't say you were. Damn it. I… this isn't how I meant it to go. I miss you, okay? I never see you anymore, and we sleep in the same goddamn bed. You don't see a problem with that?"

Baralai is silent for a while, and Gippal starts to wonder if he's said something horribly wrong. "Baralai—?"

"I'm sorry."

"I – what?"

Baralai smiles wryly. "I said, I'm sorry. You're right, for the most part. You do realize, though, that my work _is_ important, and I'm not going to just drop it completely to—"

"Yeah, yeah." Gippal grins and drops the pen back onto Baralai desk. "Does this mean you'll come to bed, now?"

Baralai casts one last rueful look at the stacks of paper that litter his desk, and then smiles back, tired and stressed, but warm with affection. "Yes."

Gippal slides the glasses off Baralai's nose, folds them, and places them carefully on the desktop. "No more than ten hours a day, 'Lai. Ten hours is plenty."

Baralai looks as though he might object – strenuously – but Gippal, hoping to put off the inevitable argument and simply revel in the fact that Baralai will at least consider taking breaks, tugs him close by his collar and kisses him, gently and carefully (but not exactly chaste, because Baralai tastes far too good for him to resist). Baralai lifts ink-stained hands to Gippal's face, and Gippal feels his lips curling in the kiss, fighting a smile. Smiling right back, Gippal dives deeper into the taste of peppermint and coffee.


	2. Touch

Touch

_Gippal/Baralai

* * *

_

This is scary. Scary and wrong and _he should not be doing this._

What is he doing? What in Spira possessed him to say yes? He can no longer remember, but with Gippal's mouth on his neck it is hard to think straight at all, and when Gippal's tongue dips into his collarbone only one thing cuts through the haze in Baralai's mind – as good as this feels, this was really, really stupid.

The silk slides, soft and whispery, along Baralai's eyes as he tosses his head to the side to allow Gippal more access to the side of his neck. It glides against his wrists as he arches into the hands trailing up his sides like butterfly wings, skating along his ribs and following above his head to trace the muscles in his arms.

"I must be _crazy_," Baralai gasps. Can't see, can't think, but the heat of Gippal's breath washing over his neck as he laughs presses an answering laugh out of Baralai – with little mirth, verging on hysteria, but a laugh nevertheless – and then Gippal is kissing him and laughing at the same time, and it's strange and breathy and clumsy but Baralai lifts his head from the pillow craning for more of it.

He has no idea what made him say yes to this insanity, but he's not entirely sorry.

That's the part that scares him the most.


	3. Zenith

Zenith

_Tidus/Yuna_

* * *

Tidus loves Yuna's kisses – would rather kiss her than breathe. He had dated a few women back in Zanarkand, but Yuna's love fills him with such wild, savage joy that at times he wants to throw his head back and howl at the moon.

But at the same time, this ecstasy – too much and too good – terrifies him. He is an optimist, and he always has been, but the possession of such happiness comes with the threat of losing it.

Yuna smiles at him, and the sun comes out. And his heart fills with dread.

Because when the sun has reached its zenith, there is nothing left but for it to set.


	4. Circle

Circle

_Gippal/Baralai

* * *

_

"Hey, 'Lai?"

"Hm?" Baralai didn't look up from his paperwork, scribbling furiously with ink-stained hands, his eyes intent on the papers. There were times when Gippal couldn't believe how very dedicated he was.

"D'you still have those nightmares?" Had Gippal been looking closely, he would have seen the wheels turning behind Baralai's sharp amber eyes.

"Which ones? I dream a lot, Gippal – in fact, I do it every night." There was a vague almost-smile on Baralai's lips, indulgent and carefully disinterested.

"You know which ones."

"I'm afraid I don't. I remember when I used to get those awful nightmares about spiders. Do you remember that night on Besaid when everyone fell asleep around the campfire and Rikku woke shouting that there were wasps in her shorts? It surprised me to think that that would be the sort of nightmare she'd have. I would have expected something about storms."

"What, like thunderstorms in her shorts? That's weird, even for her." Gippal grinned.

Baralai smiled back briefly, dipping his pen back into the ink. "Although Yuna tells me she is no longer afraid of lightning."

"She said something about that. My bet's that it's just a bluff. She used to go practically catatonic whenever there was a storm."

"I suppose it is possible she managed to get over her fear, though, don't you think?"

"Sure, I wasn't – hey."

"Hm?"

"Hang on."

Baralai waited patiently, one eyebrow just slightly raised, his face calm.

"What did you just do?"

"Pardon?" Baralai did a very good job of looking innocent, but not so much that it was obvious that he'd actually _done_ anything.

"You just… how did you do that? Man, I _suck_ at this."

"Gippal, may I ask what you're talking about?"

"I asked you something and you _totally_ avoided the question. You just talked me in a circle."

"I'm sorry, did you ask me something? What was it?"

"I… don't remember." Gippal blinked. "What the – don't look so damn proud of yourself, 'Lai. Stop smirking like that."

There were times when Gippal _really_ wished he hadn't fallen for a politician.


	5. Joker

Joker

_Rikku

* * *

_

Author's Note:_ Okay, I'm breaking both rules, here - this is neither romance, nor X-2. But since these drabbles will be both from X and X-2, I thought I'd post it under X-2 since that way I won't spoil for anyone who is still on X. I don't want to post a hundred drabbles separately as it will just crowd my profile. I would appreciate it greatly if no one reported me for this small infraction!_

_

* * *

_

"Who-_hoa_, is that thing edible?"

Rikku grinned unapologetically at the look Auron shot her – _are-you-really-that-stupid?_ – and shrugged. "Hey, just askin'," she said before darting in to snatch a Star Curtain from the enormous violet blob.

"Don't bother attacking yet," Auron called to Tidus as what was left of his magic soaked into his sword. "I'm going to break its armor first."

Rikku mugged the Dark Flan the moment its armor was gone, but did barely half the damage Tidus inflicted just a moment later. She did acquire a Turbo-Ether, though, and they had their uses.

"Shiny," she said with a tone of false wonder to her voice as she squinted at the bottle. Turbo-Ethers always looked like liquid glitter – they sparkled so brightly they sometimes left light-spots in your eyes. Auron snorted derisively as her childish tone, but Yuna smiled, Wakka and Tidus chuckled, and even Lulu's mouth twitched a little.

Zanarkand was just around the corner, and it was in all their minds. But Rikku was determined to push it away as much as she possibly could.

"Man, that thing didn't go down easy," Wakka panted, wiping his forehead, when the Dark Flan had at last melted away into pyreflies.

"It'll do ya good to break a sweat," Rikku teased, winking at him. "You're getting chubby." She poked his stomach as if to prove her point – admittedly, she hit nothing but hard muscle.

Wakka gave an indignant "Hey!" and Yuna laughed once more.

Rikku knew her role in the group. Sure, she could steal and mix, but that did little good compared to Auron's mighty sword and Lulu's powerful magics. They might call her a thief, but she knew her job, plain and simple - she kept them sane.

And honestly, she sometimes wondered how they'd survived before she'd come along.


	6. Smell

Smell

_(slight) Rikku/Auron

* * *

_

_Takes place during FFX._

* * *

Auron always had a bit of a funny smell about him. Rikku always wondered about it – it draped over him like old cobwebs, almost not there unless you were looking for it.

There were other smells woven in with it, of course, things that were uniquely him. Sometimes Rikku would slide her sleeping bag so close to his that their elbows would bump, and he would look at her strangely. She would smile guilelessly and say that she didn't like to sleep alone, and it wasn't like she _cuddled_ or anything, and his virtue was in no danger. He'd scowl and let it be, and in the middle of the night she would turn on her side, so close to him that his breath warmed her face. And she would breathe in everything that he was – steel, sword-polish, soap, sweat, campfire smoke, sake. Sharp and bitter but warm. Strong.

He smelt like Home.

But there was That Other Thing, too – deserving of its own capital letters, in Rikku's mind, because it was just that _odd_. It wasn't a bad smell, necessarily – just _different._ Sort of sweet, but clean, not sugary. It smelt… unearthly. It smelt wrong.

It wasn't until she stood on the steps of the Farplane as a stray pyrefly floated by, and she caught a whiff of the air it disturbed as it passed.

That was when she knew.

He must have smelt so much better when his heart had been beating.


	7. No

No

_Auron/Rikku

* * *

_

It hurt. Rikku couldn't pretend it didn't. It hurt a _lot_. It was what she had been expecting, and it was why she'd never said a word, but...

That didn't stop it from hurting.

She thought she'd been so sneaky - spending half the night staring at his sleeping face, his hair turned silvery by moonlight and face peaceful in a way she never saw it when he was awake. She was careful never to show any sign of it during the day. After all, if she'd hid the monster crush she'd had on Gippal when she was thirteen, it couldn't be too hard to hide this from Auron.

She should have known better, though - Gippal certainly wasn't stupid, but there was no denying that Auron was a thousand times more perceptive. She supposed he had probably known right from the start, and had ignored it in the hopes that it was simply hero worship. It wasn't, though. Al Bhed didn't really worship summoners' guardians, even really legendary ones - it was all part of the whole mess of Yevon. They might respect good fighters, but they viewed guardians with none of the awe and wonder that the rest of Spira did.

She'd never thought she'd be caught staring - when he opened his eyes, she at first thought she had to be imagining things.

"What are you doing?" he rumbled, and she squeaked involuntarily.

"Nothing!" She scrambled backwards a little as he sat up.

He looked at her steadily, his eyes dark and serious - for once not covered by black sunglasses, for which she was thankful. She wondered if he knew what nice eyes he had. "You were staring at me," he said tonelessly.

"I couldn't sleep," she said, forcing herself to lower her voice despite her panic.

"You've been staring at me for several nights, now." Auron's voice was not really made for a whisper - it was too deep and growly, Rikku figured - but he made an effort not to wake the others.

Rikku resisted the urge to slap herself for her stupidity. "I - well, okay. Yeah," she admitted, because there was really no way for her to plausibly deny it.

"I could ask you why, but I fear I already know."

Rikku chewed on her lower lip and said nothing.

"It has to stop, Rikku." She almost shivered at the intensity in his dark gaze.

Rikku guessed it had to be that lack of sleep had finally driven her completely insane, but for whatever reason, it was then that she lurched forward, grabbed his collar in her fists, and yanked him forward into a kiss - clumsy and awkward because she'd sort of missed and was kissing the corner of his mouth, and was totally unsure of what she was doing, but god, she was _kissing Auron_ - his stubble scratching at her cheeks and his lips tasted of sake and his hair was tickling her forehead -

And then he was shoving her back, perhaps a little too roughly out of shock. She was surprised to find that although it had been a rather chaste kiss, he was breathing just as hard as she was, despite the cold tone of his voice. "Rikku. No."

With that, he lay back down and turned onto his side, facing away from her. A moment later, he heard her do the same. He pretended not to hear the sniffle that followed her movement.

Auron glared at the sky, his lips almost itching with desire. It was better this way. It would save them both heartache. This way, she would never have to know what they could have had - and would never have to lose it.


End file.
